The regional leagues are over and the cups are complete. We’ve had the Oceania Champions League. We’ve had a FIFA Club World Cup and an Intercontinental Cup appearance. Players have transferred around. Coaches have done the same. Now it’s time for the main event: the New Zealand National League.

The Men’s competition has been expanded this year to include Auckland FC Reserves – that’s right, there’s going to be a Kiwi Derby for the ressies in a couple weeks – and that means it’ll go slightly longer than the Women’s NL with bye weeks being incorporated. But other than that it’s the same format we’ve gotten used to over the last few years (although check back in 2027 because they’re thinking of switching things up again). The only other difference is that we’ve had first time champions in the Northern and Southern Leagues and should therefore be treated to one of the closest comps we’ve seen. Every game matters in such a short season.

And the plan for Niche Cache coverage is pretty much the same too. There’ll be weekly roundups of each competition published around Monday or Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest, depending on how quickly yours truly can get through all the games. It’s quite a lot of work so I might lean less on the match recaps and more on annotations and reactions, let’s see how it goes. If you want the scorelines ASAP then check Tribe Sports or Friends of Football. If you want the deeper context then wait a little longer for TNC’s contributions. Also be sure to check in on our socials where we’ll try to share a few highlight clips. Plus our Substack newsletter will have a Team of the Week for each of the leagues. One on Monday, one on Thursday. Whichever gets published first depends on whichever set of games gets watched first. It’ll probably alternate.

As ever, if you appreciate the domestic football coverage then hop on over to Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee or join the Paid Substack whanau to support the work... it simply would not be possible to do this without the generous contributions of our readers so much love to those who are already onboard. Now for some previews.

Western Springs

Coach: Scott Hales

League: Northern League Champions

Chatham Cup: Lost 2-1 to Fencibles in Round 4

Top Scorer: Reid Drake & Caspar McGavin (8 goals)

Key Players: Norwegian midfielder Daniel Normann’s been really good and Wan Gatkek always brings a bit of spark, while Reid Drake continues to be a bloke they can lean on in big moments

Notable Youngster: Caspar McGavin (19yo) scored some very crucial goals throughout the campaign and unless they bring in another striker they’ll probably need to lean on him some more in the Nats

For the first time in the five-year history of the Northern League, it was not won by Auckland City. Instead it was Western Springs who just managed get their noses in front (with the division’s lowest ever championship points tally) despite only winning one of their last four games. The Swans were left sweating on other results on the final day after losing 2-1 to Auckland United despite being a goal up at half-time but those other results, specifically Eastern Suburbs beating Birkenhead, came through for them. Great reward for Scotty Hales and the lads. They were very good in last year’s National League and have kept that momentum going despite losing a few standouts from that run (Matt Ellis, Jackson Manuel, Emiliano Tade). The reason that Western Springs won the Northern League title was because, start to finish, they were the most consistent of an inconsistent bunch of challengers. The task is now to keep that going into the MNL where their dynamic brand of footy got them within one point of grand final qualification a year ago.

Birkenhead United

Coach: Paul Hobson

League: Second in Nothern League

Chatham Cup: Lost 2-1 (aet) to Nelson Suburbs in the Quarter-Finals

Top Scorer: Michael Suski (14 goals)

Key Players: Former NZ U20s striker Kian Donkers joined Birko midyear, fitting in alongside Sam Philip who has regained his scoring touch of late. The imports are also crucial and of course Birko success usually emanates from the rock at the back that is Dino Botica

Notable Youngster: Like a few of these Auckland clubs, Birko’s best youngsters will be playing for Auckland FC Reserves (Semi Nabenu, James Taylor, Everton O’Leary & Shivam Nair were all signed from Birko)... but watch for the very skilful Curtis Hughes (21yo) who scored six times in the league and set up plenty more, while 20yo Zachary Chung has also stepped up

National League runners-up last year, Northern League runners-up this year. Made it to the last eight of the Chatham Cup. Considering they’ve basically rebuilt the squad since that MNL grand final, we’ve gotta give huge props to the job that Paul Hobson continues to do at this club. They’ve performed some choice mahi with their import scouting as Americans Michael Suski and Devin Slingsby and Canadian Rohun Kawale have led the way at Shepherds Park. Quality goakeeping rotation between Silvio Rodic and Keegan Smith too. Birko were the top scoring team in the North by a hefty margin (55 goals in 22 games, eight more than anyone else) and they’ll be motivated having kinda let their league title slip through their fingers. Pretty buzzy that only four of the 15 players that took the pitch in the 2024 Grand Final are still at the club though (Silvio Rodic, Dino Botica, Leon van den Hoven & Curtis Hughes).

Auckland United

Coach: Jose Figueira

League: Third in Northern League

Chatham Cup: Lost 4-2 to Wellington Olympic in the Final

Top Scorer: Emiliano Tade (14 goals)

Key Players: It’s undoubtedly Tade, the adopted kiwi from Argentina who even at 37 years of age remains capable of performing unstoppable feats on a football pitch... although Otto Ingham and Hideto Takahashi are worthy of their own mentions

Notable Youngster: They’ve got a really strong academy set-up at this club and one of the shining lights right now is 15yo Matias Nunez who got some minutes off the bench in the Chatham Cup final after starting every game for the NZ U16s at the Oceania Championships beforehand... if he doesn’t play then 19yo’s Bruce Izumi (midfield) and Ishveer Singh (striker) are your guys

Even though they fell short in the Chatham Cup final, this Auckland United team found its best form towards the end of the Northern League, taking 16 points from their last seven matches (weirdly the only team to beat them in that spell was relegated Manurewa). Coach Figueira has a settled team with a beautiful balance of youth and experience (including 7-cap Japanese international Takahashi). Otto Ingham really took off in those last few months, he’s an Ole Academy lad who player pro in Sweden for a few years. Daniel Atkinson and Boyd Curry have embraced their roles. Abdallah Khaled and Ross Haviland have formed an imposing CB duo. That cup final defeat will keep them motivated and with how they were playing leading up to it, this is a team capable of going all the way.

Auckland City

Coach: Paul Posa

League: Fourth in Northern League

Chatham Cup: Lost 2-1 to Waiheke United in Round 3

Top Scorer: Myer Bevan (8 goals)

Key Players: Christian Gray has emerged as a hero after his goal against Boca Juniors – he and Myer Bevan started the last 15 league games in a row to become the defensive and attacking anchors of Paul Posa’s side... and you can never ignore captain Mario Ilich in the midfield

Notable Youngster: It’s tough sledding getting game-time for ACFC as a youngster (the fact that Santino Escolme and Mason Shaw started the must-win final game for their only appearances all season shows they weren’t exactly leading the way with their U20s minutes) but 18yo Jeremy Foo got plenty this season and 17yo Paris Domfeh was always ready when required

What a crazy year it’s been for Auckland City FC. One minute they’re getting a draw against Boca Juniors at the Club World Cup, the next they’re almost missing out on even qualifying for National League. It was only goal difference that got them through thanks to a 2-0 win against East Coast Bays on the final day. With all their various commitments – including the FIFA Intercontinental Cup where they lost to Pyramids FC in Egypt on 14 September (possibly their last FIFA tournament depending on how successful this OFC Pro League thingamajig proves to be) – there have been two instances where they’ve had to play domesetic games while their entire first team was overseas. It happened with two games on the same day during the OFC Champions League and there was also their Chatham Cup exit when a team of youth/reserve players had to hold down the fort while everyone else was in America for the Club World Cup. Hence how ACFC managed to use an incredible 37 different players during their Northern League campaign.

They’re also doing all this with Paul Posa on a one-year interim coaching job while Albert Riera takes a sabbatical. It might have almost been a relief had they missed the cut for National League... but nope that’s now how the Navy Blues roll so add some more fixtures to the calendar. Many of these fellas you’ll know from years gone by. David Yoo (Coastal Spirit), Jackson Manuel (Western Springs), Matt Ellis (Western Springs), and Haris Zeb (Birkenhead) are some examples of new signings who joined the cause after excelling at rivals. ACFC may have stuttered their way into the top four but you’re a crazy person if you underestimate this squad’s ability to peak when it matters most.

Auckland FC Reserves

Coach: Luke Casserly

League: Ninth in Northern League

Chatham Cup: Lost 1-1 (6-5 pens) to Melville United in Round 2

Top Scorer: Ralph Rutherford (8 goals)

Key Players: Can’t look past the first-team scholars Adama Coulibaly, Finn McKenlay, Jonty Bidois, and Oli Middleton who all played big roles through the winter (granted, the U20 World Cup is keeping them busy for the meantime, except for Bidois who’s slightly too old)

Notable Youngster: The whole team can claim that tag so we’ll have to keep it relative and nominate the youngest guy of the lot... 16yo Benjamin Perez Baldoni who joined midseason from Ellerslie and scored off the bench in each of his first three games and has been pretty prominent for the NZ U16s of late as well

The ninth-placed finish is misleading because the AFC Reserves actually concluded their first season of existence by only losing one of their last nine fixtures. They’re probably going to struggle in the National League without having gone through this whole experience before but it’s clear to see the progress they’ve already made in a short space of time. Semi Nabenu was the oldest player used by this team during the Northern League and he only turned 21 in August, will they release any of their fringe A-League players for National League having not done so at all during the winter? They’ve also bolstered their stocks with the additions of midfielder Van Fitzharris from Tauranga City, winger Aston Burns from Fencibles, and Sam Lack from Napier City Rovers since the Northern League ended. Lack trialled with AFC’s first team last year but an injury got in the way. There’s a lot of stuff that this organisation has done well since it formed and scouting elite local talent for their reserve team is definitely one of those things.

Wellington Olympic

Coach: Paul Ifill & Ekow Quainoo

League: Central League Champions

Chatham Cup: Champions - Won 4-2 vs Auckland United in the Final

Top Scorer: Hamish Watson (12 goals)

Key Players: Where do you want to go with this? We’ve got Ben Mata, Jack-Henry Sinclair, Hamish Watson, Scott Basalaj, Tor Davenport-Petersen, Gianni Bouzoukis, Justin Gulley... this team is stacked and you already know their names

Notable Youngster: Come on now, it’s gotta be Isa Prins who was magnificent in the Chatham Cup final and that was simply continuing on what he’s been doing for a year now, proving himself as one of the Greeks’ best even alongside the domestic league icons that he’s got for teammates... but if that’s too obvious then 19yo defender William Vincent also had a wonderful performance in that match

Five time reigning Central League champs, back to back Chatham Cup champs. These guys win everything but they didn’t actually have a very good National League last year, only winning three of nine games. There was perhaps a feeling that they’d completed the set when they won that Chatham Cup and might have taken their eyes off the National League prize... but the way they’ve gone about their business this year suggests that’s unlikely to happen again. With 57 goals scored in 18 games, this was kind of a slow year by their own high standards yet they more than made up for that with a pristine defensive record, only conceding 13 times as they cruised to another regional title. Olympic are entering the MNL with just one defeat this calendar year: 3-1 away to Miramar Rangers on 7 June. Given the unparalleled parity that we saw at the top of the Northern League and the scrappy battle for top two that we got in the Southern League, you’d probably have to put the Greeks down as preseason favourites.

Miramar Rangers

Coach: Kale Herbert

League: Second in Central League

Chatham Cup: Lost 3-0 to Napier City Rovers in Round 3

Top Scorer: Martin Bueno (19 goals)

Key Players: Bueno scored more goals than any other men’s player in the top three regional leagues while Nicolas Bobadilla on Tomas Alvarado also boost the South American flavour

Notable Youngster: For sure it’s 18yo Sam Gates who has become a fixture in this team over the past 12 months – with seven goals he was equal-second scorer for Rangers and there aren’t many 18yo’s moving like that at this level

Back in the big time after a wee rebuild, Miramar Rangers finished the Central League on an 11-game unbeaten streak and were the only team to beat Wellington Olympic this year. Kale Herbert’s got a core of dudes here who played for him at Hamilton Wanderers (Matt Oliver, Brad Whitworth, Jordan Lamb) but this has been an organic resurgence with a bunch of Central League faves and some excellent youngsters on board. If we’re lucky we might even get some Andy Bevin and Louis Fenton minutes. Martin Bueno’s scored heaps of MNL goals over the years, it’ll be good fun to have the Uruguayan on the prowl again, while grabbing midfielder Theo Ettema from rivals Wellington Olympic this year was a great scoop. Rangers were a clear second in the CL finishing six points behind Olympic and five points ahead of Wests. They could be dark horses in the Nats.

Western Suburbs

Coach: Michal Walesiak

League: Third in Central League

Chatham Cup: Lost 3-2 (aet) to Wellington Olympic in the Quarter-Finals

Top Scorer: Seb Barton-Ginger (12 goals)

Key Players: They’ve still got Quillan Roberts in goal, the Guyana number one, and the imports are all pretty good... but keep an eye on former WeeNix forwards Seb Barton-Ginger and Kaelin Nguyen who’ve supplied a heavy dose of the goals for this team

Notable Youngster: 16yo defender Rakshan Suresh has spent a chunk of time away with NZ age grade teams this year as well as managing a few appearances for Wests in the Central League, looking like one of the brightest in the Wests system right now

Wests and Napier City Rovers slogged it out for that last Central League qualification spot but in the end it was Western Suburbs who got there with room to spare. After losing three of their first four matches (to NCR, Miramar & Olympic – a bad draw more than a bad start), they only lost 1/14 the rest of the way. Hard to know what to make of them after another regime change, with Alan Koch leaving mid-year (to coach the University of Guelph) and assistant Michal Walesiak taking over. The Declan Edge/Ben Sippola days feel like a long time ago. Nowadays they employ more foreign players than future All Whites but this remains a very solid squad that’s proven they can get results against MNL calibre opponents – they scored as many goals as Wellington Olympic did during the Central League. There are enough dudes here still carrying the scars of finishing last in the National League a year ago that they shouldn’t get caught short like that again.

Wellington Phoenix Reserves

Coach: Chris Greenacre

League: Fourth in Central League

Chatham Cup: Lost 3-1 to Napier City Rovers in Round 2

Top Scorer: Daniel Makowem, Luke Supyk, Luke Flowerdew, and Ryan Watson (each with 6 goals)

Key Players: This depends on who’s available between A-League and NZ age grade commitments... if we ignore those with first team contracts then folks such as Fergus Gillion, Lachlan Candy, Dylan Gardiner, and Anaru Cassidy have been around long enough to lead the way

Notable Youngster: All of them, naturally, although Eamonn McCarron is one dude to focus on - he debuted for the senior squad in a 1-0 Aussie Cup win against Nunawading a few weeks ago yet hasn’t actually played National League, the 18yo is third in line for the goalkeeping throne behind Josh Oluwayemi and Alby Kelly-Heald and he’ll want to show everyone why... Mac Munro (defender) is another who seems to have been placed on the fast-track

The Phoenix Reserves were better than their 8-5-5 record suggests, it’s just that they’ve had a few disruptions along the way such as a game against Wrexham, A-League preseason, Australia Cup, an NZ U20s tour to Chile... and that juggling act will continue into the Nats because the U20 World Cup coincides with the first few weeks and this club has not only sent nine players along to that but also their coach has gone too. Of their five defeats, four came against rival National League qualifiers so that’s something to ponder. At the same time, this lot were pretty competitive in the 2024 Nats and there’s enough of a returning crew to think they can at least consolidate that. The Nix are never shy to let the occasional A-League player drop down for match fitness – David Ball played more for the Ressies than he did for the top side last season. They’ll be stretched for the first few weeks but should settle into their stride once the A-League begins in October. Giancarlo Italiano gave out seven academy debuts in his first season and four in his second season. Xuan Loke should be the next one off the production line and the rest of these fellas are competing to join him.

Coastal Spirit

Coach: Robbie Stanton

League: Southern League Champions

Chatham Cup: Lost 4-1 to Cashmere Technical in Round 2

Top Scorer: Riku Ichimura (16 goals)

Key Players: Joe Hoole and Mason Stearn were absolute workhorses in the midfield for them in last year’s National League (as well as being goal threats) and they’ve only gone to new levels since

Notable Youngster: Coastal have used their U20s transfers to good effect, adding Yusuf Van Dam from Cashmere Technical and Nick Petherick from Eastern Suburbs and they ought to be pretty important players from day one

2024 was the best year in Coastal Spirit history as they finished second in the Southern League, made the semis of the Chatham Cup, won the English Cup (for Christchurch-based clubs), and put up a very respectable showing in the Naitonal League. All of those were record efforts for Spirit... but 2025 has been even better. Didn’t have the same cup success but that’s cool because they only went and won the Southern League. Broke up the Cashmere/Chch Utd duopoly, with a 2-0 win over Christchurch United in August proving the decisive blow. Spirit won seven of their last eight games. Expect a similar group to what we saw last year which means they’ll be defensively sound and pretty direct on attack with set pieces as a key focus. Very good on the counter attack too. However, they do have a conundrum after top scorer Riku Ichimura left to sign professionally in Bhutan (with Paro FC). He’s going to need replacing.

Christchurch United

Coach: Ryan Edwards

League: Second in Southern League

Chatham Cup: Lost 4-2 (aet) to Auckland United in the Quarter-Finals

Top Scorer: Shogo Osawa (12 goals)

Key Players: Having Joel Stevens back on the national stage is going to be great, he’s a mastermind goal provider, while quality imports like Steven van Dijk, Shogo Osawa, and Travis Graham will help set the platform

Notable Youngster: This club prides itself on having the premier development pathways in the South Island and Riley Grover and Jago Godden are the two finest examples of that in this squad... they’re both 21 so if you want the U20 tips then check out Jackson Cole, Mac Prathumphithak, and Rico Pradhan who’ve all been around NZ age grade squads

By the skin of their teeth, Christchurch United were able to get back into the National League after failing to qualify last year. They were in prime position to win the Southern League prior to a spell where they drew with Dunedin City and Cashmere Tech before losing to Coastal... but subsequent dropped points by Tech allowed the Rams to swoop through with big wins away against Wanaka (7-0) and Nelson Suburbs (4-0). Phew. The OFC Pro League entry has been the headline around Christchurch United... we don’t yet know what that’ll look like but we do know that coach Ryan Edwards is stepping aside to focus on being the Director of Football at the club. We also know that with 66 goals scored and only 13 conceded, the Rams had the top attacking and defensive records during the Southern League. Not sure why it was that a team with such prowess weren’t able to grind out enough results to lift the trophy but you get the feeling this is a squad capable of scaling up to the National League level. They’ve got more to give than what we’ve seen so far.

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